State To Investigate Claims Against Home

November 05, 1991|By CHRISTOPHER KEATING; Courant Staff Writer

The state Health Department will investigate new allegations against a Somers home for mentally ill and elderly patients after a former cook testified Monday that part of the home's kitchen was infested with insects.

Hope Knybel, a cook who said she quit Oct. 22 after less than three weeks at the home, testified under oath that insects, spider webs and cobwebs were near 55-gallon drums of food for residents.

"There were bugs in the flour in the storage area," she said.

Knybel was testifying for the state in Hartford during a hearing concerning charges against Marie-Therese Limpio, manager of the Demers Home Inc. on Springfield Road in Somers. The charges, including verbally abusing mentally ill residents, are based on reports from unannounced visits by department inspectors over the past three years.

If the charges are proven, Limpio could lose her license to operate the 18-bed home. Limpio's lawyer did not challenge the statements about the food during Monday's hearing.

The cook described one insect in the flour as measuring 1 to 2 inches long.

"It looked like a maggot," she said. "It was infested. In the time I was working there, she [Limpio] did nothing to correct the problem."

Knybel said green beans were improperly stored in the kitchen and unfit for consumption.

"Rather than serve these to the patients, I just threw them out," Knybel said.

Limpio testified briefly in her own defense Monday, but she did not address the charges concerning the food. Her attorney, William F. McDonald of Somers, declined to allow her to be interviewed after the hearing. Limpio has denied all the previous charges, and she said she has spent more than $400,000 to buy and improve the home. She said she is trying to make the business survive by taking out four mortgages.

"I am not a nurse," said Limpio, who was married to Joseph Demers before his death in 1982. "I am not a doctor. I am just a simple woman."

The hearing marked the fourth day of testimony, and Limpio is

scheduled to take the stand again when the hearing resumes Nov. 14.

A hearing officer for the health department has 90 days after the close of testimony to make a recommendation to the health commissioner. Commissioner Susan S. Addiss will then issue a decision on the charges.

State health officials said they will begin investigating the new charges concerning the food but declined to reveal any details. The inspections would be made on unannounced visits, in the same manner as the past inspections.

Several nurse consultants who testified last week spoke about powdered milk kept in an open bag in a dusty cellar and food stored in soiled refrigerators.

In defense of Limpio, two parents said their 47-year-old son has been well treated since entering the home more than four months ago. In order to insure their confidentiality, the parents were sworn in during a brief private session. A paranoid schizophrenic since the age of 16, their son has lived at numerous institutions without similar results, she said.

"I had never seen him that happy," the resident's mother said as the public session resumed. "It made us very happy to see that he's being taken care of. ... I find it to be a good place."

After being asked if Limpio had verbally abused patients, the resident's father said his son has always been treated well.

Limpio "handles my son pretty well," he said. "She's strict. She's very strict. I'm the same way. I holler. ... She takes 100 percent interest in the people she serves."